North Jetty (Hikkaduwa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Honestly, looking at the next stretch, it’s a bit of a tough one. We’ve got a solid run of days where the ocean’s just not cooperating, and there’s no real surf on offer for a while. The first week is basically a write-off for getting any decent waves. The energy is weak for a lot of it, and we’ve got westerly winds blowing straight onshore or cross-onshore, chopping everything up. The water temp is sitting at 83° and that’s pretty much bang on average for this time of year. Don’t get too excited about any of that early stuff because it’s all showing as poor conditions.

Come September 12th and 13th, the swell does start to pick up a bit. The energy gets into that moderate range (2560 and 1977, plus 1270), and we’re seeing a SW swell pushing around 6ft to 6ft with a nice, long 17-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy. But, and it’s a big but, the wind is still blowing from the west, cross-on and onshore, which is going to make North Jetty (Hikkaduwa) messy and lumpy. You’d be paddling out into chop, and even though the size is there, the quality just isn’t. It’s frustrating to see that much juice in the water and know it’s going to be hard work and not that clean.

There is one window that stands out above the rest, and it’s a bit further out. On September 15th, the morning session has a combined energy reading of 1025, which is moderate, with a 4ft SSW swell and that long 16-second period. The wind is still on, but it’s a bit softer. That’s probably your best bet for the whole period, but I’d still call it a “promising but not certain” kind of day. The other standout is the 12th, purely for size and power. It’s a 6ft SW swell with a 17-second period, but the morning winds are onshore, not ideal. For a more experienced surfer who doesn’t mind a bit of fight, that could be the one with the most push, but the conditions won’t be pretty.

Everything else after that drops off again, with smaller swells and more onshore wind. It’s a long stretch of average at best, with a few days that have some potential if the wind gods decide to play nice. The crowd factor at North Jetty is a bit of a lottery too, so keep an eye out. Don’t book any time off work for this one, unless you’re keen on a paddle. There are a few days where the energy is strong, but the onshore wind looks like it’ll just ruin it for paddling. It might be more interesting for the kite surfers on those days.

Stay patient. This will turn around.

Rusty.

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